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VANCOUVER -- Mourners of Captain, the dog who died after he was found badly beaten in a dumpster, are calling for a dog park to be renamed in honour of the slain German shepherd.

Dog lovers who turned out at a vigil Wednesday night at Hadden Park, one of Vancouver’s 35 off-leash dog parks, suggested it be renamed Captain Park.

Sarah Blyth, park board chair, said she welcomed people to write a letter to the park board with their ideas for renaming the park or creating a memorial.

“We love to see people come together on something they are passionate about and I look forward to hearing from them,” she said.

“We’ll see what can be done.”

She noted that the process of going through the park board takes time, but suggested in the meantime supporters could raise money to buy a bench plaque in the park in Captain’s name. Those cost around $4,000, according to the park board’s website.

An online campaign to raise money for the SPCA investigation into how Captain wound up clinging to life in a dumpster had raised nearly $70,000 as of Thursday. More than 1,200 people had donated to the site, indiegogo.com/justiceforcaptain, substantially surpassing the $10,000 goal, the amount estimated to cover investigation costs.

Meanwhile, the Vancouver police have arrested Captain’s owner on an unrelated charge.

Brian Whitlock was arrested in Vancouver Wednesday for an outstanding criminal harassment warrant dating back to an April 4 incident, but while in custody SPCA investigators plan to interview him about the death of his dog.

“It’s preliminary to come to any conclusions in this case, but we’re pleased we’re now able to have the opportunity to speak with him,” said Marcie Moriarty, the SPCA’s manager of cruelty investigations. “What I can say is that we haven’t received the final necropsy report that would absolutely rule out something like [Captain] being hit by a car — which is highly unlikely.”

Unless the necropsy proves beyond a reasonable doubt that a human killed Captain, no charges will be laid, Moriarty said.

Captain was found suffering from serious cuts and bruises and was likely quadriplegic by the time he was rescued from a dumpster in Kitsilano on the 1400-block of Maple Street last Wednesday. On Thursday night he died of a heart attack, despite B.C. SPCA staff performing CPR on him for more than 30 minutes.

Captain was discovered wrapped in a bloody blanket that covered his bruises and cuts — he was also underweight. A vet exam showed he had spinal cord damage and air around his lungs and was not likely to recover.

Captain had more than one owner, according to information stored on the dog’s microchip, Moriarty said. The canine was once a police dog candidate but was deemed too friendly, the SPCA said Thursday.

Under the Criminal Code, the maximum penalty for animal cruelty causing death is up to five years in jail and a lifetime ban on owning pets. A fine of up to $10,000 can also be imposed.

Meanwhile, Wednesday night’s vigil for the two-year-old canine brought out hundreds to a Kitsilano Beach.

Waving posters and voicing their support for the German shepherd and the SPCA, people walked their pooches down to Hadden Park.

“We are so grateful for the outpouring of love and the offers of help we have received for this poor dog and for the support we receive for the thousands of other animals who suffer abuse and violence,” said Moriarty. “The reality is our constables do their work because donors pay for them to do the work. And we couldn’t investigate the 7,000 animal cruelty complaints a year … without the 100 per cent donor support.”

Donations to the organization’s cruelty investigations department can be made through their website at spca.bc.ca or by calling 604-681-7271.

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Mourners call for Vancouver dog park to be renamed after slain German shepherd

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